a.k.a A Year of Trying

Month: July 2016

So, I haven’t mentioned this, but I decided to start walking to work. It’s not overly far – it takes me about an hour and a half door to door, including stops to take over pokemon gyms and streetlights. If I really book it it takes closer to an hour and ten minutes. There were … More Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Walk-Commuting

So I had a pretty awesome week and a half. I finally got settled in, both at work and at my apartment, and I found out there are quite a few friends I didn’t know were in Boston who are here for the summer! For a brief recap, and also an unofficial list of things … More Week of Fun! (7/14 – 7/24)

I always passively think about race – it’s something that comes naturally to me, since I grew up in black in Chicago. And I can critically think about race – it’s basically what I do for my historical research. But most of the time I have to turn that part of me off, otherwise I can’t enjoy anything. I started to consciously do this after the otherwise really interesting movie “Ex Machina” was thoroughly destroyed when I noticed that the android who couldn’t speak was Asian, and the android model that was just a body was black, while all the fully intelligent, Turing-test-passable models, were white. However “Americanah” seems to have broken my switch. … More What do the new ‘Ghostbusters’, Barack Obama, and my National Portrait Gallery tour have in common?

I realized I haven’t had a “summer vacation” that hadn’t had some ulterior motive (visit family, language learning, camp, etc.) in a VERY long time. And since I was still in my study abroad money-is-a-minimal-object spending phase, I bought tickets to go visit my good friend Mer in DC! Believe it or not, I have never … More Das Capital – Washington DC Day 1

If you know me, or want to know anything about me, it’s that I write out my feelings. I thought I had gotten over this particular quirk of mine, as I hadn’t done it for nearly four years. However I found out last spring, when I had an overly dramatic reaction to an impending breakup … More Business As Usual

Earlier this year, Solange Knowles clapped back at a hater who wanted to know why her son was studying French, as opposed to “his own” history and culture. When reading the original comment, I was overcome with an eerie sense of déjà vu. I am one of the few thousand Americans studying Japanese. I am also black. I realized, while looking at the response, that I have had this conversation telepathically between people nearly every time I’m asked “Why are you studying Japanese?”
The comment questioning Solange’s son’s education finally caused me to realize exactly why I felt so unsettled when people inquired about my second language choice. Too often, people asked the question not out of curiosity, but out of a desire to know why I had strayed from “my lane.” The question wasn’t “Why are you studying Japanese?” It was instead, “Why are you studying Japanese?” … More The Language Learning Lane – And Why I Refuse to Stay In It

I hope I haven’t kept you all waiting. I took a MUCH need two week break from… well, life really. But don’t worry! I will have a ton of new content coming to you soon! On the docket… My last days in Japan (including a Summer Cafe Series post about the Hammock Cafe in, you … More I’m Back!